The Lost Saint(59)

“And I’m guessing you’ll step aside if someone contests you?”

Gabriel sighed. “Usually the beta goes unchallenged out of respect,” he mumbled.

“But what if someone like Caleb challenges you?”

Gabriel blinked.

“You’d fight then, right?” There was more anger in my voice than I’d anticipated. Or is he just a coward? that voice I sometimes heard growled inside my head.

Gabriel didn’t answer. He just tapped his fingers on the open page of the book.

“What are you two talking about?” Charity said from the doorway of the study. She balanced a big box marked HALLOWEEN #3 in her arms.

Gabriel popped up from his chair. “Let me take that from you,” he said, and held his arms out to Charity.

“Thanks,” she said as she gave it to him. “Mom’s got like five more of these. Sorry it took so long. Mom made us reorganize the whole closet before we could take anything out.”

I heard Mom call Charity from the basement stairs, and she ducked back into the hallway.

Gabriel turned back toward me. “We shall see what happens when the time comes. But I wouldn’t worry about Caleb Kalbi, Grace. He’s a pathetic excuse for a man or a wolf, and I doubt he’d dare show up alone anywhere near our pack.” Gabriel hefted the box out of the room and said something to my father, who must have been in the kitchen.

I sighed and laid my head down on the table. My brain felt heavy from so much information, and now, on top of my concerns about Daniel and my anxiety over finding Jude, I was bogged down by a whole new set of worries. I glanced over at the book and saw the drawing of the Beast of Gevaudan. Long neck, sharp claws, and teeth dripping with blood. The drawing also depicted a woman lying on the ground, trying in vain to ward off the lunging beast with a long spear. Another question came to my mind, even though it was too late to ask Gabriel now.

What if Caleb Kalbi did show up to the challenging ceremony—only he wasn’t alone?





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


Basic Training



WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON




I knew Gabriel’s stories were supposed to deter me from wanting to develop my powers, but they only made me more determined. There were bad things out there—bad things like Caleb Kalbi (even if, according to Daniel, he was supposedly living in South America now) and bad things like the Shadow Kings, intent on tearing the city apart for who knew what purpose. And I had to be prepared to take them on if people like Gabriel were going to sit back and do nothing. I could barely wait for the school day to pass before I got a chance to see Talbot again.

I tapped my feet with anticipation the whole bus ride to Apple Valley and barely noticed what April was talking about until she asked me how I felt about tiaras.

“Um, what?”

“Tiaras: pro or con? Say pro, because I’ve been dying to design a killer tiara. Oh! Maybe it could really be killer. Like it could have silver spikes on it that separate into Chinese throwing stars or something.” She trembled and wrote something in her notebook.

“What are we talking about again? Why would I need a tiara?” And did I really want to know?

April held up a finger. She wrote one more thing in her notebook. “We were discussing a princess theme for your costume. Like Princess of Wolves. Or Princess Lupine. Princess Puppy … no …”

“You’re kidding, right? No spandex. No tiaras. And certainly no princesses.” I tried to grab her notebook to see what the heck she’d been up to while I wasn’t paying attention.

She hugged the notebook to her chest to keep it away from me. “How about the B-I-T-C-H Queen?”

“April!” My jaw dropped. She’d never been one for swearing—even the spelling variety.

“Well, you have been really on edge lately,” she said.

“I’m not on edge. I’m just, you know, nervous.”

I really didn’t know what to expect for basic training, since Talbot’s idea of testing my skills had been a little more than intense, but I was surprised when he drove us to a run-down Apple Valley strip mall after I met him outside the bus.

“If you think I need to sharpen my shopping skills, I’ve already got April for that,” I joked as I followed Talbot into one of the shops.

“This ain’t a pleasure trip,” he said, and pointed up to the sign above the shop door. Half the letters were missing, but I could tell it was a kids’ karate studio. A dojo—or at least that was what I thought it was called.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “If you’re thinking of enrolling me in class with a bunch of kindergartners, I can tell you right now that isn’t going to happen.”

Talbot rolled his eyes. “This place has been closed for the last year. The Rock Canyon Foundation just leased the property. They’re planning on fixing it up for one of their youth programs, but I figure we’ve got the studio to ourselves for a week or so. Perfect place to hone your skills in a controlled environment.” He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the front door. He held it open for me.

“Controlled environment?” There was a small waiting room in the front of the shop with dusty metal chairs, and then a long dark hallway that supposedly led to the actual studio. “You swear there are no demons waiting inside to jump me?” I could just picture a room full of Gelals with their claws out, ready to pounce on me the second I entered.